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Florence Johnston
Florence Johnston is the Jeffersons' sassy, backtalking, wisecracking maid. Her first appearance is actually in the debut episode, when she was interviewed and hired as the housekeeper for the title-bearing characters. Although her job is supposed to take up most of her time, she appears to be flat-out slothful (at least, as far as George sees it), using very little energy or effort to clean the Jeffersons' apartment, which she still manages to do well. She also regularly bickers with George, who's the one person who usually complains about her work. George, who pays Florence's salary, repeatedly complains about her laziness (and cooking), and he gives her a very small paycheck. Several times he was on the verge of firing her, but Louise, who thinks of her as one of the family, forces him not to. Originally a recurring character, Gibbs later became the core of the series, becoming a series regular, having to appear in 207 of the 253 episodes. The role of Florence is played by actress Marla Gibbs Despite being a decent Christian (as Gibbs is in real-life) woman, Florence never kept a long relationship with men. This was the biggest reason she gave to the Jeffersons and the Willises when she attempted to commit suicide in a Season Two episode. However, George incongruously told Florence not to, simply because she would be hurting everyone if she did. Louise would later credit George for convincing Florence not to take her own life, and gave that as a big reason that underneath his gruff, stubborn exterior was a man who was concerned about others. Another time that Florence had to admire George was when he donated one of his kidneys to a relative, causing her to admire his physical toughness and concern, and she pampered him, along with the Willisses, went across town to a far away bakery (which George used to spend some alone time with Louise and "to get rid of three people I can't stand"). In the Season 5 episode "Florence Meets Mr. Right" (episode #16), Florence seemed to have met the Mr. Right she had long been searching for, a one Buzz Thatcher (Larry McCormick), a ultra-conservative, seriously pious born again Christian man who seemed perfect to her: he attended church 7 times a week, didn't smoke, drink, and could quote Bible scriptures by memory, which aroused Louise's suspicion, as to her he "didn't seem normal". Florence, too, begins to see the traits about Buzz that Louise saw, and soon begins to have serious doubts about wedding him, which become confirmed when George presented Florence with a wedding gift, a neglige, which offends Buzz, who believes "only a sinner would wear such a thing"; things really go awry when he directs her to put the gift back in its box, and as she tries to explain the intent of the Jeffersons' gift and responds by raising his voice "Put the damn thing back in the box!" When Buzz accuses women who wear such things as negliges to be "sinful", and then accuses Louise, who thought it a good idea for George to buy Florence the neglige, of being "sinful", the wedding is not only called off, but Florence also tells him off, too, telling him, "I thought that you were my angel, some angel. The moment you called this sweet woman a sinner, you lost your wings an sprouted a tail!" In an early Season 3 episode, "Louise Gets Her way" (#2), she becomes the Jeffersons' full-time maid, and then takes Lionel's room after he marries Jenny Willis ( "The Christmas Wedding", #12) and finds a place of his own. George naturally refused her to do so at first, but she managed to help him escape a sham financial deal with a couple of con artists, and George was grateful for that. In the Season 4 two-part opening story episodes "The Grand Opening:Part One" and "The Grand Opening:Part Two", Florence was kidnapped for ransom by a pair of criminals after they mistook her for Louise. Florence handled the hostage ordeal, and managed to give out a clue to her friends over the phone. Mr. Bentley was the only one to uncover that clue, and she was rescued gradually by the police. Trivia *Her favorite drink was Muscatel and Ginger Ale. *Florence would continue to star in the show for the remainder of the running period, becoming a fan-favorite character. *She is head of the Jefferson's building as a part of the Sisterhood of Household Technicians Building #2 *Her favorite actor is Billy Dee Williams *She and Louise are fast friends, Louise used to be maid just like her. . Category:Characters